Night of the Long Knives
'''Night of the Long Knives' is a short story written by BobTheDoctor27 as an entry for Vorred's Writing Contest. The story revolves around the actions of Toa Nuva Merall, Brorag, Chaeus and Dorvan during the events of Uprising. Story Part 1 The twin suns burnt brightly in the clear sky above the wasteland, highlighting the parched earth and lush, overgrown hills. A coarse green carpet of vegetation covered much of the land, choking the dry soil. Indeed it was a vast tract of unenclosed wilderness. A somber, windswept stretch of emerald valleys and turfs, virtually treeless as far as the eye could see. This was an ancient space shaped solely by the forces of nature and seemingly impervious to the efforts of Matoran. Ensnared beneath the shrubbery, Toa Theran, Toa of Fire, stirred. There was a long and mellow moment of disorientation where a dark cloud obscured his vision. For a full minute he lay sprawled on his back before he realized that the strange sensation was that of sunlight flooding in through his closed eyelids. It had taken him several moments longer than it should have to come to that conclusion and it took longer still for him to come to his senses and open his eyes. Scattered randomly around him where five familiar faces; his fellow Toa. Each teammate of his was spread-eagled, like plush dolls that had been caught in a gale and dumped on the ground. Calling upon every ounce of his inner-strength, the crimson Toa struggled to his feet. His muscles ached and were slow to respond but he managed to stand, albeit awkwardly. Theran swayed a couple of times before finally gaining his balance. His movement disturbed the others and, one by one, they too began to budge, the shackles of their slumber lifting. “Ow,” groaned Theran, feeling the aching in his joints. “What happened?” His head was pounding. Nausea, headaches and the strange sensation that something was very wrong flooded his attention. The haze still had not cleared from his mind and his thoughts remained fuzzy. “It seems that we were somehow... teleported,” groaned Range, the team’s male Toa of Water, as he pulled himself upright. Indeed, the landscape that encompassed the team was completely alien. Plus they had no idea how long they had been lying inert in the middle of it. Theran nodded then shot a glance at the terrain before them. All that there was to be seen was plant life as far as the horizon. “We should split up and look for some villagers,” he stated halfheartedly. “Maybe they can help us.” “I don’t think that splitting up is our best option, Fire-spitter,” bristled Merall in her typical morning mood. The female Toa of Stone was still rubbing her eyes. She had not even woken up and she was already criticizing him. The Toa of Fire grunted in response then turned to Chaeus, Toa of Earth. “Brother, let’s have some of that Akaku Nuva magic.” The black-armored Toa frowned, the Telescopic Lenses on his Kanohi swiveled out accordingly, like a microscope in a Ko-Metru laboratory. Almost instantly his Mask of Vision began to glimmer in the midday sunshine, then he twitched from side to side, peering in each different direction. “There’re three footpaths leading out of here,” he replied idly. “It looks like we’re in a clearing too.” Then the frown that came naturally with the shape of his Kanohi deepened. “But that’s not all,” he muttered, attracting the attention of the entire group. “I can see something… something underground, giving off crazy energy readings.” “How crazy?” “It’s too far away to tell,” shrugged the Toa of Earth carelessly. “But it seems pretty small. Maybe some Turaga buried a bunch of Toa Stones nearby.” “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” grunted Brorag, Toa of Ice. He was busy pulling pieces of grass out of the folds in his armor. “How’re we going to do this, Theran? Are we going to toss a widget to see who gets stuck with Range?” “Hey!” snapped the Toa of Water sharply. “I’ll remember that remark when Naming Day next comes around, brother.” The Toa of Ice and Water glared at each other icily for a long, hostile moment before they sprouted grins and clanked fists. “So what’s the smart-plan?” asked Dorvan, Toa of Air in his usual, sarcastic Chutespeak. “There’re three roads and six of us,” responded Theran with a shrug. “Three teams of two.” The six Toa glanced at each other awkwardly then shifted towards whoever stood closest to them: Dorvan with Merall, Brorag with Chaeus, and Range with Theran. “Remember, we’re visitors in this land,” continued the Toa of Fire, but already the team had splintered off along the different paths. “Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints.” But Toa Theran’s hollow warning would fall upon deaf audio receptors. Part 2 To Be Written Part 3 To Be Written Part 4 To Be Written Characters *Merall *Brorag *Chaeus *Dorvan *Theran *Range